Since my last post, we have spent 9 days at home, 4 days driving to and from NH, 10 days at Joe Wheeler State Park (pre and post the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous) and another 10 days making our way east on the Tennessee River. The gathering of current, past and future loopers at the AGLCA event was great. We met lots of other boaters and learned so much about the route from here to Norfolk, VA. We are going to take our time moving south, giving the west coast of FL as much time as possible to recover from the hurricanes. While we New Englanders know there is nothing like the fall colors of home, the foliage and weather in TN has been beautiful! We are enjoying a lovely, secluded anchorage on Lake Tellico tonight, this being our furthest point east before turning back and making the journey to rejoin the main loop route in Iuka, MS.
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| 2024 Fall Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park, Rogersville, AL |
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| 5 of us left Florence to get through the broken Wilson Lock on the way to the Rendezvous |
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| So happy to see the back side of the dam, lock lifted us 93 feet! |
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| Hunter's Moon at Joe Wheeler State Park |
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| A great hiking trail at the state park with many friendly deer |
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| Emilie B with new friends :) |
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| Emilie B made it into the photo too! |
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| Nearly 40 boats at the rendezvous, almost all were open to attendees at some point during the 3 days |
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| Sun rising as we make our way east on the Tennessee River, very happy to be moving again |
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| Fall has arrived! |
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| Sunset at Goosepond Marina |
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| Sunrise departure |
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| Sunset at Shell Mound State Park |
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| Remnants of Hales Dam |
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| Kyra enjoying being on the move again |
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| River narrows and hills grow as we get closer to Chattanooga |
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| One of a few docks along the river in Chattanooga |
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| Departing Chattanooga |
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| The water is still quite murky from the Hurricane Helene runoff |
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| Still seeing bald eagles, they have been all along the rivers from Chicago |
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| Sunset in Terrace View Marina, Spring City, TN |
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| Another beautiful sunrise departure - another fishing derby! |
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| Last lock on the Tennessee River - Fort Loudon - 73 feet |
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| Going up |
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| Lock #134 complete :) |
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| Visitor at Fort Loudon Marina, Lenoir City, TN |
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| Little Tennessee River, structures were left in place when the area was flooded |
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| There are areas densely populated with multimillion dollar homes |
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| Fort Loudoun constructed in 1756 by the British at the start of the French and Indian War (reconstructed in the 1930s and moved above water levels when Tellico Lake was created in 1979). |
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| Our anchorage in Tellico Lake |
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| From our anchorage - in the distance, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park |
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| Florence Marina to Tellico Lake Anchorage |
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| Spectacular end to another perfect day |
